The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In plant development and improvement, genetic improvements are made in the plant, either through selective breeding or genetic manipulation, and when a desirable improvement is achieved, a commercial quantity is developed by planting and harvesting seeds over several generations. To speed up the process of plant improvement, statistical samples are taken and tested to advance seeds from the population that have inherited or exhibit the desired trait. However this statistical sampling necessarily allows some seeds without the desirable trait to remain in the population, and also can inadvertently exclude some seeds with the desirable trait from the desired population. Not all seeds inherit or exhibit the desired traits, and thus these seeds still need to be culled from the population.
Apparatus and methods for the high-throughput, non-destructive sampling of seeds have been described which would overcome the obstacles of statistical samples by allowing for individual seed analysis. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,430 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,431 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,432 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,434 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,435 (filed Aug. 26, 2005), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose apparatus and systems for the automated sampling of seeds as well as methods of sampling, testing and bulking seeds.
The present invention addresses needs in the art for improved breeding methods using high-throughput, non-destructive seed sampling systems.